appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Christopher Halls

Given all the pianists out there who have been dubbed “poets of the keyboard”, the phrase has become a little tiresome. But its use is justified when applied to a musician of the calibre of 24-year-old Canadian pianist Tony Siqi Yun.
Musical poetry was front and centre in Yun’s self-curated recital at Hong Kong City Hall on June 4 of works whose themes include death, madness and redemption.
Yun began with Brahms’ lyrical Four Ballades Op. 10, which take a more literal approach to the genre than Chopin’s and were inspired by narrative poetry.
The recent Juilliard School graduate and winner of the first prize in the inaugural China International Music Competition in 2019 delved deep in the opening “Edward” Andante, which takes its dark subject from a Scottish poem about patricide, playing with power in its impassioned passages without sounding forced or percussive.

In the deliciously nostalgic sounding second movement and the poignantly punctuated Intermezzo. Allegro third movement, Yun never lost sight of the interconnectedness between the four ballades. He capped off the set with an Andante con moto of hymn-like quality.
Yun’s playing of Ferruccio Busoni’s densely layered transcription of Bach’s Chaconne in D minor for violin was no holds barred, yet he navigated its crisp dotted rhythms without losing sight of its architecture. His powerfully sustained reading of the work showed virtuosity, but also delicacy and inspired moments of introspection.
Then, as Dame Edna Everage used to say, things turned “a bit spooky, possums!”
The distressing mood of Charles-Valentin Alkan’s La chanson de la folle au bord de la mer, or the “Song of a Mad Woman by the Sea”, became downright eerie in Yun’s hands.
As he reached the work’s swirling, frenzied climax, little doubt remained as to the point at which the poor woman lost the plot. With barely a pause, he segued into Robert Schumann’s Geistervariationen or “Ghost Variations”, effectively linking two works with madness at their core.

The composer’s final piano work, in E-flat major, is performed infrequently. The variations were written around the time Schumann jumped into the freezing Rhine river in a failed suicide attempt and not long before he was admitted to an insane asylum, the composer believing himself surrounded by spirits who played him music both wonderful and hideous.
Yun’s treatment of the opening theme exuded vulnerability yet was strangely comforting. He conveyed effectively the emotional turmoil of the five variations that ensue with delicate usage of the piano’s sustain pedal.
There was precious little time to recover from that roller-coaster ride before listeners found themselves in the outer circles of Dante’s Hell in Franz Liszt’s Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata (“After a Reading of Dante”).

Referred to often as “The Dante Sonata”, the piece draws its inspiration from the 14th-century Italian writer’s narrative poem Divine Comedy.
Showing his rock-solid keyboard technique, Yun played as if possessed himself, turning this journey of the soul into a suspense-filled thriller from start to finish.
The extreme dynamic range he produced helped convey the work’s hellish imagery. Where tenderness was called for in moments of poetic introspection – quite possibly Liszt’s depicting joy in heaven – Yun’s pianissimo was as hushed and otherworldly as could be.
His flawless rendition of the quick-fire chromatic octaves with which the work concludes, and which conjure the image of Satan’s faces in Dante’s Inferno was shattering, and, like Yun’s entire recital programme, an example of just how powerful poetry in music can be.
“Premiere Performances Hong Kong – Young Piano Virtuoso: Tony Siqi Yun”, Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. Reviewed: June 4.


Could hit musical Hamilton be coming to Hong Kong in 2027?

Hong Kong Ballet to move to city’s first dedicated dance venue in 2027

The inspiring story of Hong Kong dancer and filmmaker who began at 48 after leaving Apple

Hong Kong theatre legend Fredric Mao launches foundation to boost city’s performing arts

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Pianist Tony Siqi Yun produces poetry in Hong Kong recital with some dark themes

Pianist Tony Siqi Yun performs in Hong Kong on June 4, 2025. Photo: Kenny Cheung/PPHK 

Canadian-born pianist Tony Siqi Yun, back in Hong Kong for the first time since his 2022 debut, plays in a recital at Hong Kong City Hall on June 4, 2025 presented by Premiere Performances of Hong Kong.  Photo: Kenny Cheung/PPHK 

Tony Siqi Yun performs during his piano recital at Hong Kong City Hall on June 4, 2025. He presented a programme of works by Brahms, Busoni, Schumann, Alkan and Liszt. Photo: Kenny Cheung/PPHK 

Tony Siqi Yun showed he is indeed a “poet of the keyboard” in his recital at Hong Kong City Hall on June 4, 2025. Photo: Kenny Cheung/PPHK 

Throughout his recital, Tony Siqi Yun produced playing of power and finesse. Photo: Kenny Cheung/PPHK 

Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham wins prestigious Van Cliburn international competition

Aristo Sham during the awards ceremony of the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Photo: Brandon Wade

Aristo Sham, 29, of Hong Kong, performs with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under conductor  Marin Alsop in the finals of the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Sham was named winner of its top prize on June 6, 2025. Photo: Ralph Lauer

Aristo Sham, of Hong Kong (right), the overall winner, bronze medal winner Evren Ozel, of the United States (left), and Vitaly Starikov, of Israel and Russia, who came second, during the awards ceremony of the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at Bass Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Photo: Brandon Wade

Aristo Sham aged 10 after winning the first prize winner in the Ettlingen International Piano Competition for Young Pianists aged 14 and under. Photo: Handout

Aristo Sham from Hong Kong makes his way to the stage after being announced as the winner of the gold medal in the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo: Ralph Lauer

Lang Lang, Renée Fleming, Tan Dun, Anne-Sophie Mutter among HKPhil 2025-26 season’s stars

Chinese pianist Lang Lang, whose last appearance in Hong Kong was for a performance at Disneyland, is among the stars of classical music performing with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in its 2025/26 season. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Soprano Renée Fleming, who will perform music from her award-winning album Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in October 2025. Photo: Andrew Eccles, courtesy of Decca

Leila Josefowic will perform Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Violin Concerto, specially written for her, on April 24, 2026 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Photo: HKPhil

Esa-Pekka Salonen, former music director of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, will be the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s composer-in-Residence for its 2025-26 season. Photo: Andrew Eccles

In Mozart’s The Magic Flute by Opera Hong Kong singers outstanding, staging disappointing

A scene from Opera Hong Kong’s new production of The Magic Flute, directed by Shuang Zou, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Photo: courtesy of Opera Hong Kong

Andrés Moreno García as Tamino (left) and John Chest as Papageno in a scene from Opera Hong Kong’s The Magic Flute. Photo: courtesy of Opera Hong Kong

A scene from The Magic Flute, directed by Shuang Zou, which premiered at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on May 15, 2025. Photo: courtesy of Opera Hong Kong

Matti Turunen as Sarastro and Sofia Troncoso as Pamina in a still from The Magic Flute. Photo: courtesy of Opera Hong Kong

Aigul Khismatullina as Queen of the Night. Photo: courtesy of Opera Hong Kong

1980s Hong Kong pop idol Danny Chan’s bittersweet success story: his talent, fame, the tabloid rumours, his retirement and early death

Singer Danny Chan Pak-keung puts one of his albums in a time capsule in 1991. Photo: SCMP

Danny Chan was one of Hong Hong’s “Three Kings and A Queen of Cantopop” in the 1980s, with fellow idols Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui and Alan Tam. Photo: SCMP

Yvonne Siu, project manager of TVB, presents a souvenir to Danny Chan in 1984. Photo: SCMP

Chan singing at his own birthday party in 1988. Photo: SCMP

Chan (left) and Jacky Cheung Hok-yau at the Top Ten Pop Stars Election in 1987. Photo: SCMP

There were numerous rumours about a relationship between Pansy Ho and Chan. Photo: Weibo

Chan performing at a concert to promote Aids awareness in 1990. Photo: SCMP

Chan was taken to Queen Mary Hospital after collapsing at home on May 19, 1992. Photo: SCMP

Flanked by singer Anita Mui Yim-fong and actor Chow Yun-fat, Danny Chan’s older brother Chan Pak-ling carries his younger brother’s picture at the singer’s funeral in 1993. Photo: SCMP

Lifestyle

Arts

Culture

Music

Themes of death, madness and redemption linked the Romantic works in Canadian’s recital, delivered with a mix of power, depth and delicacy


Themes of death, madness and redemption linked the Romantic works in Canadian’s recital, delivered with a mix of power, depth and delicacy.


Classical music

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Themes of death, madness and redemption linked the Romantic works in Canadian’s recital, delivered with a mix of power, depth and delicacy

Themes of death, madness and redemption linked the Romantic works in Canadian’s recital, delivered with a mix of power, depth and delicacy